Branding is Culture-Building

Since an organization’s brand starts with its values then branding work is inextricably linked to culture-building.

A great brand starts with us.

The many external-facing activities done by designers, marketers, salespeople, product managers and customer support teams are an outpouring of the internal-facing, culture-building activities championed by the c-suite and HR.

If an organization is not focused on building a great culture then it can’t expect to build a great brand. Customers will probably not be more excited about a product or service than the ones building and supporting it. We set the tone and customers follow. If we don’t set the tone, customers are left to figure out on their own what the organization stands for.

Sometimes a product is so desired at the time that a business will find success in spite of an unhealthy culture but those are not the brands that will withstand the test of time. The foundation is too weak for long-term brand-building. See: WeWork. An organization like WeWork is not doomed forever, though. They may indeed become a great and trusted brand in the long run but only after an excruciating process of culture-rebuilding.

So, how do we take action?

For anyone interested in brand-building, first ask yourself how you can affect the culture inside your organization. You’ll need to explore that on your own but it could take the form of leading a diversity initiative or scheduling a virtual happy hour, two things that folks have done recently at my organization, Astronomer.

As for me, a designer, I’m going to connect with our new HR director and see how I can help put together an onboarding package for new employees. Something to not only help people use our logos, icons and colors most effectively but also introduce our values in a meaningful way. And stickers. Everyone loves stickers. For good reason, too; they’re a visual reminder of the brand and, therefore, a reminder of what we stand for.

I’ll keep you posted. —Chris